McCain for President or How Obama doesn’t get it

Going into November, Sen Obama knows that he has no chance of winning if even a small percentage of independents look closely at his foreign policy experience or ideas. This is the man who called Iran a minor threat after all and has said publicly that he will meet personally with the most despotic leaders of the world. He has tried to compare himself to JFK and Reagan, who he believes negotiated peace with the Soviet Union and Cuba. This historically flawed comparison highlights Sen Obama’s lack of experience and knowledge where foreign affairs are concerned.

Sen McCain, on the other hand, has rightly pointed out that there is nothing “tiny” about the threat from Iran, Venezuala or Cuba. Iran wants, and will acquire, nuclear materials and weapons if given enough time. Venezuala controls most of the oil that comes to the US. Cuba is still a communist country positioned a stones throw from our shores. Sen McCain recognizes that sitting down and talking does nothing except prolong the inevitable.

Successful diplomacy can only come from a position of strength, and that is where Sen Obama is historically flawed. JFK resolved the Cuban missile crisis by sending warships to Cuba, while keeping the channels of diplomacy open. The Soviets blinked first in the military game of chicken JFK played and thus he was in a position to make demands of the USSR. Similarly, Reagan built a massive military and continued deploying weapons around the world despite Soviet threats. The Soviets tried to keep up and eventually became so financially strapped that they were forced to negotiate. It was not until the Soviets blinked again that Reagan met with Gorbachev and bargained from a position of strength. Neither JFK nor Reagan were looking for a common interest, as Obama has suggested. Both Presidents were looking how to force the Soviets to blink first and come to a diplomatic arrangement hat in hand.

When Neville Chamberlain stated that he had avoided war and declared peace in our time, he probably had no idea that Hitler was going to embark on his conquest of Europe. However, Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement actually turned out to be the Achilles heal Hitler was looking for in Europe. Iran,Cuba and Venezuala may be small countries but there is nothing tiny about the threat that they pose to America and her allies. Sitting down with them will expose an Achilles heal Sen Obama is too naive to protect and too inexperienced to defend once it is shown.

Coors has launched a new ad for their venting can. The ad appeared in the local free entertainment newspaper The Weekender. In the ad the word Memorial is crossed out and replaced with ventingso it says National Venting Day instead of Memorial Day. The disrespectfult tone of the ad seems to inspire people to vent their frustration over the war on terror on Memorial day, a day set aside to honor the sacrifice of those men and women who have given their lives for the cause of freedom.

There was a National Venting Day launched by Coors. It was declared on April 15,2008 to celebrate their new can but the ad was used locally this weekend. Cynical people will only see an ad for the new can, no matter when this ad is run, however given the sentiment of many people towards the war on terror, “venting” takes on a different tone over the Memorial day weekend. The suggestion that people should vent their frustrations this weekend, a time set aside to honor, not smear, veterans, is reprehensible. If someone locally pirated this ad for use this weekend they need to issue an apology and if Coors approved the ad for use, Coors needs to apologize as well.

As we celebrate this Memorial Day weekend, let’s all try to thank a vet and honor the sacrifice of others by attending a parade or memorial service. Further, if we are beer drinkers, pass by the Coors stacks and buy a good beer that respects the sacrifice of our Vets.

“In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individuals capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individuals sexual orientation,” Chief Justice Ronald George

Chief Justice, no one asked you to recognize an individuals capacity for love. The question before the court was about the legal definition of marriage. Every state recognizes marriage in different ways. PA has common law marriages which may not translate to laws regarding benefits in NJ. Only two states, Massachusetts and California, now recognize marriage between gay couples, a recognition that will not be observed in other states due to their laws on the books.

Judges have taken too many liberties when deciding cases. Determinations should be made based on the question at hand. When the judges in CA issued their ruling it was written as a psychological question of feelings, not as a judgement of the law. Conservative or liberal, judges need to face the questions they are asked and not inject personal feelings into the issues.

Workers for the Obama campaign recently reported they encountered racism while campaigning for Sen Obama in PA. In last week’s local paper, workers said they reported racist encounters the day AFTER the primary in PA ( you know the state Clinton won by 9 points!). Yes, The day AFTER. Also the Washington Post recently had an article saying that Obama signs were burned at the St Patty’s Day parade in Scranton, A Clinton stronghold of bitter Americans.

Both of these instances point out the hypocrisy of the Obama campaign. The candidate himself says that he is above race when it comes to the election, yet his campaign will utilize the race card to make voters feel intimidated anytime it is strategically needed. Obama’s supporters in PA said nothing of this reported racism before he lost the primary but waited until after the results were in, probably to provide support to the “bitter Americans” comment.

The Washington Post article also had no facts to back up the story. No one was specifically quoted as seeing this action and no one is commenting on the story. I suppose we are supposed to believe the men in white sheets were doing this on the streets of Scranton or that this is the same as burning a cross in someones yard.

If Sen Obama wants the Presidency so bad his campaign needs to stay away from the race card. “Bitter Americans” realize race baiting too and won’t be intimidated to vote for a candidate based on anything other than the issues. A vote against Obama is not a vote against civil rights, it is simply a vote against the wrong candidate who wants to weaken America internationally with his plans to appease terrorist leaders and weaken America’s position domestically with his overblown government programs.

Obama’s new slogan seems to be “Reclaiming America”. It is posted on his pulpit as he preaches and will no doubt show up in campaign ads soon enough. With this slogan he is apparently hoping to remind voters about the 2000 election and stir the bitterness that is still simmering below the surface of “disenfranchised” voters from that year.

What this slogan shows is that Obama still has no plans to discuss issues and feels that resentment and bitterness some Democrats feel should be enough to get him elected. Obama knows that once he is pressed on the issues voters will see him for the political puppet the leadership has made him since ’04. His sudden rise in politics is evidence that the string pullers had trouble reigning in the Clintons so they cut their hold and attached Obama long before his time. The leadership knows he has no record so they hold him up as the face of change despite his voting with the party 96% of the time. They also know that if one of two things happen before November, the economy turns or the war is still going well, they will lose the election without reigniting the bitterness of 2000. “Reclaiming America” is a subtle reminder by the Democrats that they still have not gotten over the “stolen” election of 2000. Obama’s handlers could have used “Don’t blame me, I voted for Kerry” or “Gore” as their campaign slogan just as easily. The problem is that Americans don’t want bitterness and hate to decide their President. Look at the ’04 campaign for evidence of that where, despite an escalating war and a slower economy, George Bush was reelected by a majority of Americans.

Slogans tell you something about the candidate using them. “Reclaiming America” is a far cry from the “Change” of a few months ago. The slogan smacks of a lust for power that the Democrats feel they are entitled to because of the last two elections. Compared to McCain’s slogans of “Leadership” and ” Integrity” to name just two, Obama’s slogan is about power and glory. Personally, I want a President who wants to lead America, not reclaim the mantle of power for the good of the party.

Sure its easy to blame the President and his party for the economic downturn the economy seems to have taken lately. Its easy to blame war spending for state of the economy as well. What is hard is for Americans to blame themselves for the economic conditions that they are in right now.

Americans are only now beginning to ask themselves ” can we afford this?” when it comes to their personal expenditures. This question should have been asked long before the $300,00 McMansions were built on a yearly salary of $50,000. It should have been asked long before the 52 inch plasma TV with surround sound and blu-ray player were bought. And it should have been asked long before the 4 Hummers in the driveway were bought. As Americans we expect there to always be “more”. More cash, more stuff and more opportunities. I’m not saying that this is a bad expectation, it’s not, it drives the economy. But the problem is when there is “less”, we feel cheated and it somehow becomes the governments fault. Those of us complaining now that we can’t afford our houses, cars and bills are looking to the government for relief and at the same time complaining about the government deficit. So which is it “more” government spending to relieve personal problems, or “less” spending so we don’t pass on the bill to our kids and grandkids?

So instead of this normal economic correction being viewed with the negative word “recession”, maybe Americans can call it a wake up call. Voters keep calling for more fiscal responsibility from the President, Bush and the next one, so as not to balloon the deficit. How about a call for more fiscal responsibilty in our own homes so we don’t keep ballooning our own deficit?

With Hilary’s super delegate lead gone it seems that Obama will be the nominee in the general election. While her passing from this race is probably long overdue, her presence will be missed.

While on the campaign trail, Sen Clinton gave voters the show of their lives. Visiting every small and forgotten town throughout the primaries, perhaps her biggest legacy will be how to campaign. In contrast to Sen Obama’s campaign, which pontificated from on high until the last minute, Sen Clinton got out there and did everything short of taking out my trash on Thursdays, a move that no doubt would have earned her even more votes from hard working middle class Americans. Sen Clinton’s and her husband’s love for the campaign trail will be missed as we head toward November. The last best chance of the Democrats is gone, R.I.P.

As we move towards the general election let us not forget all of the wonderful things the Democrats have given all of America in this primary election cycle. First, they have shown us that all votes matter, unless you are a resident of Michigan or Florida who went against the politburo (sorry, party) and are being left out of the nomination process because Howard Dean said so. Second, the patriotism of Sen Obama, who loves his country so much he did not even denounce his pastor, Rev Wright, until it got personal. His pastor’s words are an inspiration to all America hating countries around the world. Third, the awakening of America’s middle class, who before this election viewed their religion and guns as rights and now see that they are mere crutches that keep them sane through troubled times. Fourth, the end of racism, traditional or reverse, in America. No longer can Americans be called racist after Sen Obama becomes the nominee. His nomination shows that he is above race, but if 90%+ of black voters turn out to vote for him that’s just a coincidence. Some first time endorsements would never come just because of race of gender, that’s a ridiculousidea. And finally, we should never forget the inconvenient truth, delegates, not the popular vote win elections. As we saw the Democrats run for office they did not focus on the minor distraction of the popular vote. After all, George Bush stole the election with delegates, not the popular vote. The biggest argument in the Democratic party was who had the most delegates and more importantly the almighty Super Delegates. The popular vote was ranked third in their must win categories, at the ready if needed but rarely talked about.

So as we move on to the general election, let us thank the Democrats for nominating a candidate who truly understands America and her people. For a unifying force rather than a divider. And finally for a candidate who can run on issues and experience, not hopes and dreams.